Verstappen, Sky end F1 boycott spat

Nov.12 (GMM) Formula 1 broadcaster Sky and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen have declared that their spat and boycott are now over.

In Mexico, the energy drink owned team back its driver and imposed a boycott of Sky’s British, Italian and German coverage of the sport, with world champion Verstappen hitting out at arguably biased recent coverage.

Sky UK executives reportedly travelled to Red Bull’s factory in Milton Keynes last week for clear-the-air talks, and pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz – whose coverage triggered the affair – confirmed that met with the Dutch driver at Interlagos.

“We met, sat down and had a good talk. As Max said, we have drawn a line under it.”

Indeed, when speaking with the media in Brazil on Thursday, a reporter pointed out that Verstappen was again answering questions posed by Sky pundits.

“Yeah, we drew a line under it,” said the back-to-back reigning world champion. “So we just keep on going. And yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

Meanwhile, after Mercedes said the logos of embattled cryptocurrency exchange FTX would stay on the car in Brazil, the company subsequently filed for bankruptcy.

A team spokesman confirmed that the logos have now been removed.

“We have suspended our partnership with FTX as a first step,” he said. “We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops.”